Lee voters to decide: Is tax savings worth the loss of services?

When voting Jan. 29 on the property tax reform referendum, the typical Lee County homeowner will have to ask this question: Is the $209 saved if the measure passes worth the potential loss of county government services?

The elements of the proposal include a $25,000 increase in the homestead exemption; portability that allows people to take all or a portion of their Save Our Homes tax protection when they move; a 10 percent cap on property value assessment increases for non-homestead properties like second homes and businesses; and a break for business taxes.

Little League teams could end up paying fees for field use. Long-awaited ballfields in South Fort Myers, originally expected to be in use this year, will wait until 2010 or even 2011.

"We may focus on recreation and libraries," Janes said. "We may not focus on our tremendous problems with roads, and we may say everybody's got to take the hit."

Lewis said county government expects that hit to be about $20 million if the referendum passes.

"It's $20 million plus," she said. "That's $17 million for the double homestead exemption and $3 million for tangible personal property. We haven't projected for portability."

Wilkinson said portability — the ability to take Save Our Homes savings along when you move — will actually mean more money for local governments.

"Portability is the Cadillac of the vote," he said. "There's so much impact statewide and it doesn't cost government revenue. It increases revenue. There's doc stamps, there's sales tax and there's the increase in the tax base. It'll increase wherever you go."

Those who collect property taxes don't like to talk about portability, Wilkinson said, because it stands to increase their revenue.

"They don't figure it in," he said. "Tax entities are ducking it."

The referendum also would eliminate tangible personal property taxes of less than $25,000.

Wilkinson said his office handled more than 64,000 tangible personal property tax accounts this year, many for only a few dollars.

The tax is collected on equipment and other property, "the handyman's tools," Wilkinson said.

"I've been fighting for this for years," he said. "It costs us as much to handle as it generates, at least."

The $209 savings figure per homeowner that Wilkinson uses is based on doubling the homestead exemption.

Currently the first $25,000 in value of a homesteaded property is exempt. The referendum would exempt the third $25,000 as well. The owner of a newly-homesteaded house worth $250,000 — close to the median value in Lee County — now pays taxes on $225,00 in value. If the referendum passes, it would be on $200,000.

Another change is a 10 percent cap on assessed value increases for property that doesn't have a homestead exemption.

"This evens out some of the huge increases we've seen in the past," Wilkinson said. "But we won't know for several years what it means."

Lewis said it likely won't mean anything this year. With property values flat or falling, it's unlikely the commercial properties targeted would increase by 10 percent.

The real question, Wilkinson said, is whether local governments will raise tax rates to make up the difference for the loss of property tax value.

"Do they have the ability to adjust the millage to make it up? The answer is yes," he said. "It's always up to them. It always has been."